Flat disc-like food items, such as frozen hamburger patties, are often sold in packaged stacks for both home and commercial use. Commercial sized packages normally contain a greater quantity; for example, a 144 patty package stacked in 12 layers of 12 patties (4.times.3 in each layer) is a common configuration of hamburger packaging for fast food restaurants.
Other flat disc-like food items include any variety of formed meat or poultry patties, slices of cylindrical sausages or luncheon meats, cookies and candies.
In the case of dry-frozen hamburger patties, these patties are formed and dry-frozen by well-known machinery, such as, for example, a FORMAX machine manufactured by FORMAX Food Machines, Mokena, Ill. These machines discharge frozen patties in a relatively continuous stream. The patties may then be inspected either visually and/or electronically for defects, and conveyed to a packing area.
Although some plants may still employ entirely hand-packers, most modern plants have some degree of automation intended to reduce the tasks of removing the patties from the conveyor or collecting bin, stacking them in the proper configuration in the packaging containers, sealing the containers and transporting them from the packaging area to cold storage or loading docks. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,137,604: 4,236,855; and 4,827,692 disclose apparatus for automating tasks in the stacking and packaging process.
There are a number of problems associated with this industry which relate to the quality of the product. These include metal pieces which may be found in the meat, portions of patties which are missing and overweight or underweight patties. Since present technology in the formed food packing industry consists of delivering the product down a conveyor system to a packing area where the food product is packed by hand in a slow and labor-intensive way, the handling of the end item can also lead to contamination which must be avoided where possible. Nevertheless, where high speeds are required, hand packing is still the rule.